Battle of the Bookshops

384 pages

English language

Published 2025 by HarperCollins Publishers.

ISBN:: 978-0-06-334067-1

"A charming literary-themed novel about a young woman determined to save her great-aunt’s beloved bookshop from extinction by the shiny new competition—which also happens to be run by the handsome son of her family’s rivals.

The cute, seaside town of Portneath has been the home of Capelthorne’s Books for nearly a hundred years…

The shop, in the heart of a high street that stretches crookedly down the hill from the castle to the sea, may be a tad run-down these days, but to Jules Capelthorne, the wonky, dusty world of literary treasures is full of precious childhood memories. When her great-aunt Florence gets too frail to run it alone, Jules ditches her junior publishing job in London and comes home to make the bookshop’s hundredth birthday a celebration to remember.

Jules quickly discovers things are worse than she ever imagined: The bookshop is close to bankruptcy, unlikely …

"A charming literary-themed novel about a young woman determined to save her great-aunt’s beloved bookshop from extinction by the shiny new competition—which also happens to be run by the handsome son of her family’s rivals.

The cute, seaside town of Portneath has been the home of Capelthorne’s Books for nearly a hundred years…

The shop, in the heart of a high street that stretches crookedly down the hill from the castle to the sea, may be a tad run-down these days, but to Jules Capelthorne, the wonky, dusty world of literary treasures is full of precious childhood memories. When her great-aunt Florence gets too frail to run it alone, Jules ditches her junior publishing job in London and comes home to make the bookshop’s hundredth birthday a celebration to remember.

Jules quickly discovers things are worse than she ever imagined: The bookshop is close to bankruptcy, unlikely to make it to its own centenary celebration, and the lease on the building is up for renewal. With a six-figure sum needed, the future looks bleak.

To make matters worse, the owner of the property is the insufferable Roman Montbeau, from the posh, local family who owns half of Portneath. The Montbeaus and Capelthornes have feuded for years, and Roman has clearly not improved since he tormented Jules as a child. Fresh from a high-flying career in New York, he is on a mission to shake things up, and—unforgivably—proves his point about Capelthorne’s being a relic of the past by opening a new bookshop directly opposite—a shiny, plate-glass-windowed emporium of books.

Jules may not be able to splash the cash on promotions and marketing like the Montbeaus, but she’s got some ideas of her own, plus she has a tenacity that may just win the hardest of hearts and the most hopeless of conflicts.

Let the battle of the bookshops commence…"

3 editions

WhiskeyintheJar reviewed Battle of the Bookshops by Poppy Alexander

Cozy and sweet

3 stars

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review

Because she needed extra complications like a hole in the head, and nothing good ever came of a Capelthrone having anything to do with a Montbeau.

It's been thirteen years since Jules embarrassed herself in front of her forbidden crush, Roman, but of course he's the first person she sees and has to share a cab with when she dashes home from London when her mother calls her saying her great-aunt Flo had an emergency. And of course, he's opening a rival bookstore right across the street from her decades owned family one. When Jules finds herself staying longer than she thought, she's all-in with battling Roman, and her inopportune crush on him.

Roman liked a challenge, and Jules, he suspected with some pleasure, was a …

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review

Because she needed extra complications like a hole in the head, and nothing good ever came of a Capelthrone having anything to do with a Montbeau.

It's been thirteen years since Jules embarrassed herself in front of her forbidden crush, Roman, but of course he's the first person she sees and has to share a cab with when she dashes home from London when her mother calls her saying her great-aunt Flo had an emergency. And of course, he's opening a rival bookstore right across the street from her decades owned family one. When Jules finds herself staying longer than she thought, she's all-in with battling Roman, and her inopportune crush on him.

Roman liked a challenge, and Jules, he suspected with some pleasure, was a worthy adversary.

If you're a frequent reader of this author, you'll immediately feel at home in this little English countryside town, where many of her previous couples make their home and make appearances (The Littlest Library). You could start here as there's not a important backstory or plot threads to know but you'll probably be curious about some of the romances featured and want to search out their books. This followed the previous books' vibes and formula, cozy atmosphere, a little awkward not quite sure of herself but determined female main character, a handsome male main character that gently pokes at her but also tries to take care of her in little ways, some family drama/issues, and small town issues.

As if she could ever have truly loved a Montbeau.

There's obviously some play with their last names, Capelthorne and Montbeau, and the Romeo and Juliet themes are brought up a good amount. It's centuries old family drama, with Jules and Roman not quite sure exactly what divided and caused the bad blood in their families but it does play into some of their current drama. Roman's rival bookstore (there is credible reason he opened a bookstore) and though it takes a while to be revealed, an obvious looming issue that will deliver the third act breakup between the two regarding the lease of Jule's family bookstore that is held by the Montbeaus. With a smattering of Roman's point-of-view readers get a look into his family issues, an overbearing father, and mostly told from Jule's pov, we see the distance between her and her mother and the closeness between her and her great-aunt Flo. There was also a fascinating plot thread with a diary/grimoire found in their bookstore that belonged to one of Jule's female ancestors that brought in historical elements about wise women/witches and the witch trials in England in the 1600s. I wish the story had kept the focus more on the romance, bookstore rivalry, and witch elements, when it veered into some women's fiction meandering, Jules just living her days and flitting around the town, the pace dragged for me, especially in the second half, I feel some just needed to be edited down/out.

And it just felt so right.

The romance had the tension from the bookstore battle but all kept pretty light, I wouldn't call it an incredibly strong focus in this but it was an enjoyable additive. There was some, feeling, forced righteousness to Jules being angry at Roman for things he couldn't change but they get a sweet HEA. The bookstore battle, with the help of the ancestral grimoire plot tie-in, ends in a way not easily predicted but, mostly, happily. All-in-all a cozy and sweet look-in at the newest romance in this little English town setting.

Subjects

English literature